The Fable of a Tainted Hero
by NekoKittyNinja
Summary: My world was swallowed in the darkness, and I'm not going to let Albion be the same way. And maybe, just maybe I can find a way to bring my world back. And yes, it has a non-Prince/Princess OC in it as the main character. A more than likely romance.
1. The Beginning

I obviously don't own Fable. -_-'

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><p>The multi-cultural crowd went wild as their country's leaders shook my hand and gave me the top honor medals of their people. While looking out into the crowd I took a sharp intake of breath as pain invaded my body once again. The voices had returned, clawing at the back of my mind, telling me that I had failed them, all of them.<p>

_The darkness isn't gone_, it whispers, _you__ only pushed back the inevitable_. I knew that I wasn't able to kill the ringleader of darkness, The Shadow. He was swift in battle and I hardly got to get in any hits, even with my vast arsenal of weapons. I sustained several blows though; including a particularly brutal one, which left me forever tainted. I can feel it, the swirling darkness that drips and pools within my hero stature.

_Whatta hero, I can't even protect this world. It's too big for only one of me. _

That was true too, the planet I was born onto, called Earth, was vast and full, almost over populated. Getting everybody to believe _me,_ that something out there was coming to slaughter us all was one of the hardest things to do. A few hundred-thousand casualties were to be expected by the time the darkness finished its onslaught.

The people in my world have always had a difficult time getting along, but countries that wouldn't join the battle perished under the attack.

_That's ancient history…no use thinking about it now, _I attempt to reassure myself. _All I can do is wait and rest for the next wave._

"Thank you" I said with a slight bow. "But I have to go,"

_This isn't over yet, it's still out there, and I can feel it…_

I looked out at all the shining, hopeful faces, whose lives all rested in my hands. I bowed again to hide the look of anxious despair which has almost certainly crossed my face. Here, I grimaced again as the pain and the voices came back. Breathing deeply and standing erect, I rubbed an aching temple and went to the Sanctuary, the only place that I could truly call my home.

I stayed in the main room, headed over to the giant map in the middle, and leaned on the edge of the round table, looking over it to find any source of darkness. My tired eyes glimpse nothing unusual at first, but just as I start to turn away, out of the corner of my eye, I see something moving, almost serpent-like, along my kingdom and homeland. I quickly turned back to find that a dark mass was quickly covering the map. As it covered more and more of it, the Sanctuary walls began to ooze cold ebony darkness. Cracks began to erupt through the walls, books fell from shelves, pictures and promises became inky black as the walls were enveloped in darkness.

_I have to get out of here, and fast. _

I ran to the armory and grabbed the two weapons left by the last hero; a sword and a rifle. I ran back to the middle room to pick my destination, hoping to help the people there as much as I could. Right before I left, the Sanctuary shook violently, making me squat low to the ground to steady myself. The darkness that began overfilling the map grew upwards in a big, Indescribable blob. Before my panicked eyes, the dark mass began to shape itself into the hooded man that I dreaded, The Shadow. He looked at me with his crimson eyes and pointed at me with his bone finger.

"_It's your fault these people had to fall like this. You are the one to blame, and because of that you will never escape. You will fall with your people_." The sound emanating from his black form emanated as the same voice that too often swirls in my mind.

I grabbed my rifle and aimed.

"Shut up and let's get this thing over with." He didn't move, instead another blob came up and began showing the people, my people, trying to fight this battle outside the Sanctuary.

"_You can hear their screams can't you? Why don't you protect them? It is your destiny isn't it? You know secretly you want to be free of your destiny. You don't want to live in the servitude the people for the rest of your life. Let them die, all of them fight with me and you will be set fr_-." I shot the blob of darkness he had been using as a make shift screen.

"You may have gotten the part right about me wanting to be free, but I am not like you. I will not let you kill all those people, and I will fight till my death to protect them." Not being able to see the map I thought of the last place I've been to and chose it as my destination.

When I appeared in the outside world everything was covered in the black sludge, and corpses were scattered everywhere. Most of them still had the looks of terror on their faces. Despite all the death around me my hopes where still up. _If there is at least __**one **__person still alive then-. _My thoughts where cut short as the children of darkness came out to play. I grabbed my sword and began to try and reduce their numbers, but based off the carnage, their strength had been multiplied. They finally got the meal they had been craving for.

My breaths where quickly becoming short pants as the darkness kept coming at me. All I could see around me is a sea of darkness and red eyes. Panic rushed through my body as I start to come to the terms of my situation. _At least the shadow couldn't say I didn't go without a fight. _

With sweat rolling down my now dirt and blood-caked face, I faltered in one of the swings of my sword and the children saw it as an opening. They attacked me all at once, and even though I tried pushing them all off me there were just too many. The children were no longer single entities, but an ocean of darkness. And I'll tell you what, drowning in darkness is different than drowning in water. The burning agony of your whole body as darkness fills your lungs can make even the toughest man scream pathetically for the healing hands of his mother. Through my struggle I was able to get one hand free but with nothing to grab onto it was useless. Just then I began to give up and let my body relax in the caresses of death.

_Its over…_

I was almost too far gone before I felt the gentle tug on my freed hand.

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><p>My friend drew my OC for me. I'll have the link on my profile for you to see it.<p> 


	2. Mourningwood

_Disclaimer: I really don't own Fable, I only own Faron._

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><p><em>Warmth…<em>

Its gentle caresses penetrated my feeble senses, while wave after wave of sweet heat lapped at my aching muscles. The thick scent of earth and stagnant water stung my nostrils, as my stinging hands groped cold, damp blades of grass. With an involuntary groan, I forced open my heavy eyelids, willing my vision to focus. The dust of fallen limestone bricks danced and swirled, as the dilapidated remains of a once great fort lay around me.

_This isn't right…_

My thoughts raced as I lifted my blood and earth-soiled form.

_I should be dead._

The searing acid that writhed between my muscles held me tight, constricting each movement in the silent, suffering pain I had come to anticipate after a fierce battle. After a short, quiet moment of pure agony, it had passed, as brutal a reminder of my exploits as I have ever experienced. In the stillness, I felt the determined eyes of a strong, lofty presence watching my every move. I reached for my rifle, but a good-humored, booming voice erupted into my ears before I could launch my next assault.

"Glad to see you awake, young adventurer! We nearly thought you dead by your stillness alone!"

I looked over my shoulder to find a man in a tattered old style military, the rank of which I had never seen. His face wrinkled from years of experience and brutality, but his brow lifted with a shimmering triumph that only those men who have found something worth dying for possess. His impressive facial hair, well-groomed and fabulously grown, rested above his lip, and curved upwards in the most gentlemanly fashion. This man was a walking contradiction, but his unspoken story immediately filled me with respect. He held out his calloused hand. "Call me Major Swift.

"Faron" I said with a nod.

"So, Faron what bring you to the luxurious marshes of Mourningwood?"

"_Mourningwood_?" I asked in utmost confusion. "where exactly is that?" His brow furrowed in silent disbelief.

"Well, this is the kingdom of Albion…" I slowly rubbed my face, felling the dried blood flake beneath my palms as I tried to think of a possibility on how I even got here.

_I know for a fact that there wasn't an Albion kingdom anywhere on Earth. If this isn't Earth then does that mean it's gone? Am I in a different universe then? And why am I here? Who saved me and why? Where do I go from here? _As these thoughts were racing through my head, a small blue light raced down to the ground and erected a skeleton. At first it didn't move, but then it brought out its swords and started charging at one of the people.

"Watch out!" I rolled over to my rifle that had been sitting against a barrel. I hissed in pain as I shot at the skeleton's head. It only took one shot for it to shatter, but as soon as the rest of it fell to the ground, multiple blue lights sunk into the ground, and awoke an army of undead.

"Hollowmen! Protect the fort!" Major Swift shouted along with other commands. I grabbed my sword and ran out to join the battle, slashing and shooting in flourishes trying to keep their numbers down. It was going good until Swift's lieutenant went down, then it was like a chain-reaction, and more and more men started dying.

"I'm not going to let this happen again." I lit a crackling flame in my hand and unleashed it to every hollowman I saw. The combination of fire and lightning made every single target explode on impact. The reuse of the same combination of spells over and over again was starting to take its toll, along with the low fatigue I had started with. I started seeing black and when I paused my legs gave out making me land hard on my backside. When I could see straight a hollowman was over me and poised to strike. I heard a shot go off and the skeletons head exploded, and the rest of the body fell into a pile of bones. Taking a deep breath from a close call, the man who saved my life offered his hand.

"Thanks, that could have ended badly." I took his hand and he helped me up.

"No problem, you saved my ass in the beginning of this so this is just a repayment."

"Ah. Very well. My name's Faron." He gave me a lopsided grin, that, had I been a more sentimental hero, would've made my heart flutter.

"Ben Finn, nice to meet you." He gave my hand a slight shake. "So how did you get the ability to use magic?" I let go of his hand and smiled.

"A long story, how about we help clean up." I said as I began walking to Major Swift, and the rest of his brigade. They were gathering up the dead men to be buried. I stated helping but with every body I picked up more pain would come to my stiff muscles, and I would shuffle to the next body. That was until I was picked up by someone.

"Put me down Ben." I started struggling in his arms.

"No you need to rest more than anyone of us here. Whatever battle you were in before this one left you injured." He placed me on a mat near the fire. "Stay here we can finish this up without you."

"Fine." I huffed. I was facing the fire when I heard Swift ordering his lieutenant to stay in the ground. "You know he's dead right? He can't hear you."

"Well we'll have to see if he listens then!" Swift shouted back. I let out a small chuckle as they finished up.

"Here drink this, and get some rest. Hopefully you'll be ready for tomorrow night" Swift handed me an intricate red and purple bottle.

"What's this and what's going on tomorrow night?"

"That is a health potion and what went on tonight will happen again."

"This happens every night? How can you keep this up?" I asked after drinking up the potion.

"I often wonder the same. Get some rest." I laid on the mat and watched the sun begin to filter into the fort before I fell asleep.

_The sun was shining in my face and the cool air breezed through my hair as I stood on top the hill a small city was bustling below. Everything was so calm and peaceful compared to what I've been through lately._

"_**You'll never be free; the darkness will consume you…**" I looked around to find the source but instead I saw darkness invade the city almost snake like. Screams of terror filled my ears as I began to run down the hill to help._

"_**You can't save them. They are gone, and you will go with them.**" The darkness grabbed one of my legs and pulled making me land on my stomach. It kept pulling as tried to get up, making me pull clumps of dirt and grass with me. The more I struggled the louder I could hear his laugh. _

"_**Just give up, let the darkness consume you and everyone.**" _

"_No!" More vines of darkness grabbed onto my legs and arms and pulled my into a pool of darkness._

I jumped awake as I felt a searing pain in my leg. I sat up and frantically pulled my pant leg out of my boot searched for the source of the burning, stinging pain. The memory of the discovery of that mark, that 'tattoo of heroes' that has branded me forever, still replays in my mind as the first sign that my journey in this new kingdom, _Albion,_ was far from over.

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><p>Please review. I don't bite, I swear.<p> 


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